The fight card is set for next month’s Bellator 99 event, and one of the lineup’s four opening-round matchups in the Season 9 featherweight tournament has taken the top spot.

Bellator 99 takes place Sept. 13 at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. The main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

A planned light-heavyweight bout between UFC vet/recent signee Vladimir Matyushenko (26-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and former Bellator champion Christian M’Pumbu (18-5-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) has been scrapped. M’Pumbu suffered a hand injury and has been replaced by Houston Alexander (15-9 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a former UFC fighter who makes his Bellator debut following a pair of stoppage wins earlier this year with VFC.

Taking the main-event spot from Matyushenko vs. M’Pumbu is a tournament bout between Diego Nunes (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Patricio Freire (17-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA). Nunes, who recently went 7-4 with the UFC and WEC, makes his Bellator debut against “Pitbull,” a former title challenger and two-time tournament finalist.

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